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 TABLE OF CONTENT,S

nu: ESR.'"'TlAUi or StKIIISM . By S, #:apu.r SIItt". M.A (CGlUab)

RAG ASA
At~::;;oa,J.r

1J1IJ.~riV
,..
331

(21
J'ar cf kt AJ4, .u. / ''''
TMW(lrr/to/lhrlJ.l,af;IDf
'"
RAG OUJRr
""
AJ~Q;-aJls

"a' (1/ Rt:r Gujrl. /of, J

'"
000

"0' ,,' &r GuJrl. ~f. S 50.

Thr WDrJ of Orr BAaJ.ttu (.ilS

RAG DD'OANDIfARr
RAG D1l1AGi\RA
Vor (1/ /l.1t IMl4rIJTtI, AI. <I

RAG VAOHANS
AlhlllpttJu
GlwdJ
;l}aWmb
Va,. "I &r Yodh41u. At. 4
RAO SORAl1t 577
6l!
AJhtapadLJ
61S
Va,. 4 Rat; Saratl!, M. 4
6~9
n~ Word 0/ ,hr I1haktat
 The Essentials of Sikhism
Religioll de.11s t$SC1ltislly with Ibm subjects: of the n~[ure of reality. the n.:Uure of DUn and Its R:lltioD
to this rt.1lil),. and l.utly with the way to reach this mlLty. The lint two subjects belong to philosophy proper
atld it is the third subject which bnngs the other IYlO also into the dom:tin of rellgion. & long: as n:ligion merely
deCln" the 1\31U~ of re:lbty and Jteb to by down the true \'1I.)ues of human activity. it Is no tt'lorelhanphilosopby
and ethics. but 14hen It seeks aod promises 10 hdp human $Oull0 Isle thne truths to be.art and 10 put them into
aetlon with the ob.ied of rt10lving the problem of .ufTenng. which Is inherent in the Innermost core of rn3.ll. the se1(.
Q)n~ousneu. then it bteomes rdlgion prn(ltr. Man Cln. poulbly. k~p IUs mind away ftom the inleUectuaiproblems
or the mystCT)' ofunivc:rse. the nature of his own self and that oelhe "'orld aroued him and tke n:ature oflhe rebtion.
ship lMt binds both. but he a.nnot help )'eaming and sufl'mng. As PascallJ3s &aid. "Mill) Is the only wretched
cte:lturc tIut there is", and a reli,gion wh ich dId not \\,hole-heartcdly lId:le this problem would ting hollow. In this
Knst. Duddhism "'"llS eminently right when it declllTd thai the b.uic problem, demanding ~solution of religion is
....-Ill ddIAn", Ie. tlut all indlvidUllcd conscious e;mlence enUlls surrenng. ..... hich muru thallUfftring inheres in
the \ery nsture of the human individuality,
SIl:hism is eutntially a RelIgion oflhe Way. I r., something tholt must be: lived and experienced rather than
somethlng which may be Inlell~W1l1y grasped &lid comprehended. True. then: Cln be no pmttice Without the
doctrine, Sikhism. therefore. has ill doctrines, iu vicw of feolJlty, iu view of lbe lIolture of man, and their inter.
rehtionship. but It lays pnmuy sIms on the pf3ctict, the disapline, "the way which leads to the ctssatlon of
sulTenng," a5 O:tulam, the Buddha. had fonnubted It
A C3reful reading and understanding of the Conlents of the Sikh Scripture shows lb:ll the religion oC Slihism
fw three postubtn implicit In iu teachings. One, thol! then: is no C'SStnlial dualllY between the spirit and the
maUer'. T~o. that man. alone has the Cll.p3Clty to enles: into conscious participation In (he pl'OCt'U of
the evolution, wbich (urth" ImrllC111e1 tMt the prOCt'U of evolution. as understood by the modern man, has COme 10 •
dead-end and il. therefore, must be rcsctIcd by lIIe conscious effort of man \lobo alone is Clp:abl~ now of furthering
this proc:eS$' . Three. Iml whC1l the man rC'3ches the highest .coal of evolutIOn, namely. the vision of Ood b~ mu t
not be absorbed bat~ into God of voidne!' but must rem:tio.earth<CInscious so as to Ir:lD~rorm this mund~l'Ie worl~
into a higber lind 5p'"tu31 mode of existence. Bnzh",gyt2l1l partlpkar emaM 1,
The first of these propositions is a postulate of phJJosophy though. In the eont~xt or philOiOphic L1ti
of the world, it is ltartling enough The view takeD by Sikhism on this point is th:u the SPIrit and~ m3~t:
are 1'101 anl3gonb llc to each other. the one sublle, the other gross, and that the COre of the human nat b' h '
sdr<Ollscious, and the physical nature. are accouotable uhimatdy in terml of Ihe subtle, The r:a~he:a~I~~
ph~iClI aspect ~~ the ulliverse IS 3S re31as It! subtle aspect IS, though 10 a m~e of consciousness which is in.
pomted and lnd,vldualtd, they appear to be pole, apart. A true eomphrehen5lon, however \lih' h I /
the religious dIscipline of sublimating and integralmg tfte human facultie!, removes this b3Si~ d ;c : u ts rOm
mind and the ml.tler. "When ( saw truly, I knew th31 all ...."3.S primeval. Nand::: the subtle ~a ~Y t tween (~e
fact identical·." This assertion is repealed in the Sikh SCripture again and again in exegesu of ~~ ~ ': pO$! Ire In
SIl:.hism given as the opening line of the Sikh Stnpture, in which It is pOstulated that "Ih p e, allC fonnul3 o(
pre-Temporal is true. the Phenomena IS true, and also the yet·to·be-no!ved Is true''' Thb
~ nmary is lrue, the
SIk.hism postulales, has far-reaching ImpllClltlons. bolh in respect oflhe tradllion~1 Hindu..,e;tf reality, which
problem of the true conduct for man, FIrstly, it. In essence, repudiates tbe b:niceonctpl ofH : 1000phy, and the
in the doctrine of Ma~, which is postulated IS the illusory pOwer which crealethap In u t~ought embodied
the subtle Hindu mind charaeterises it as QlIInacnm>'a. "unsa)'llble. whether 1'" :ai::,~,a~'~:~~tn~~t.!~~:

i~ S:::;::i ;~"1I11 641 :~t. Ib~.·AmMI.~: J.;~. : :J}IVI_ hTial, klr JlD1anrtl ../ofII Jo:d!3, ",//41, AI b~"'-CQIUI, y
 I JI )

but it ddinilely is a nihD¥. obscuring Power of na.ture. and aD agent or enor :lDd iUus.ion. ,ccouD~blc for the
manifestation o(aU pbcuomrna. to Slkhism. the term. MtJ!/tJ. is retained but ~t is i.D.rcrprtt~ otherwue. ~o as 10
make It Ilot II category of C:'(Jslcnce, but a cb.1l'aC1erisbC of a stage and pwe Ul tile 10\'0Iu(100 of the SPlnt. The
result of tha rc · mterp~tauoo 15 rtpfcte ""th tttmmdous coo5eqm:ncn for we Pr'3.ct.iC11 outlook of man. The "-orld
of phenomena IS no loos« a. dream lJld a pMntum3.SOria ill the tDlllds of the &O<b. 10 be: by·p:used and shunned.
It is :as na1. in fact., b tbe Ulumate RealIt)', but the JX-fC:d\'W& hum:m mind is beset ""th limitations that must
be: tJUlsccnded and C'Il\ a.\undtt before it can be 5rtn thus.. It is lhis \hat bas lllade it pcKyote for SIk.bism to
by down that the highest rdl810us chscipl.me must be pn.~ 1Irhile rrmaillins aaht in the socio-politiQ]
contexl, and not by giYUlg up IUld renotmcing the '9oorldly bfe. It IS \his wbkh b3s gJ'\'t:%I: the Sikh mmd" smse
oftlf!'tDC}'. andunp:trted to it a gc'IIulnt" strain of extroversion ",luch the Westall r:ci:nd h3s acbjel"ed oo1y through
adopting b3:S1calJy dlfl'Crtllt pouulates, sud! as, that this one hfe on e:u1h is tbe only hfe a soul may look forward
to u1l the C"Ild of time. and that the essence of the rttI is its clwacteristie of bemg the objttt of semory-motor
perttptiOtl It is tbe pecuhar \'1ttUe of Si1:hlsm that wlu1c it trUins the pru:oacy of the spirit O\'er the matter,
it pre\ctlts hUm30 hfe degmeral1J:lg mto the purely secular, utllttarUn and cxpediC"llt modes of acthi~. It is a
farther vinue or this postulate of Slk.h tehgion that It le1lds the n~ sease of ulEency to the mInd of manl ,
ud impsrts to it an utrovt:rt raoth'ation. to. so far as tt is eueo.ual to tcbi..a them foc human "dfue. material
P{QsperitY~ and sptntual ~dvmoem«lt 00 this earth.

The second postulate iAberent m the teachinpof SlkhiSID is. tll.st the bLilld lJrt;eo(eyotatioo ••fler nadnng
the (!Omt of creallng the sdf~ow man, h.u come to a dead-end and by itself flOW It is i.nClpabLc of tnabn~
any further progreU. unku \.b e self'<OllsciOl1tnelS. U\ ",hic.h is grounded the ""D of man, now ~a C'On~ously
guided and dtrectod p.1rt to ,cad the evolllllonuy urge and guilk it. "lb.il the Guru. for, be t~tbes and :rids
the ~t of man ovu himself'." 'Thls llne of thought. in variOlU fonns. JllllS thzou&hout the 'aluminous Sikh
Sniptort, Uld U 1S It gium",e to $:'Iy thJ.t the conttpt of \be 'superman' •• bieh aplAted the mind of Niet:zsdle
chmtlg the 19th. ttIlt'a1)' itl Europe, and from .hom the modern lndJao thirrktr, Atrrovindo Ghose, w
tabtl
his cue, J5 first of aU and truly ,dtltllba"ated in tb e Sab Scripture; and th:U lhe eoll5C!oas effort of m.:w alone is
at this suge. C3p:tb1e of furthering the plOC'CSS of evolution tbs t has gone so far 10 mate and sb.3:pc tbe ma.leri31
and humsn world, is now more ot' less aC'Crpted by the tluukiDg modem minds.
But by f:u the most SW'\httg prntuhte of Siilusm is \b:lt tbe lnIe end of tuarl JS not such a \;slOn of God
which culminates in ~ab50rptiOft of the indn"ldua.1 lIlto the lI.bsolute I'dhty, btlt the emergm~ of a race of God-
conSCiOUS men, ",bo mn:un e1Jtb..aware ud thus apel:le in the mundane "orid of the phenomtn.1, with tbe
abject of traturOl'UWlJ: :uut spintu:1hzin, it iota a bighC'f and ma~ abauda.nt platle of exmence. "Tbe God-cons-
clOUS m.llI is anim3.Ied with an mtnlSe d~~ to do good in lhh .,orld·... l.n lIIe past, the arm of the highest
rtllgiaus duapltne "'liS ukn:l and a~ted as the 'It:Unment of tdentity with or ptopinquity to God. It was not
thou£ht 1(1 t:rms of utihsing lbe God-coftSCiousneu rot' trunrol'mUlg and spi.ritualtslng the life on e:anh. aod the
bumanlty Uislhu~yollJtioa.uy postuhteofSlkhum""bitbistbe lnte prolot)'pe of the soplusllClted philosopby
of the modem Ha.odu sage. Au rolindo GbOSC', tboug,b tbe~ i, 110 ~Ie el'idrnte 10 suggest that M is directly
md.::bted (0 the sLklt tbOU&bL Dose, hov.'ev.:r. ",be know how NsJC: and revolutJonaty postul:uel (If lhis kind
an: dpable (If urlIllCTIClDg mea aDd minds. far sepatattd by dts~ a.od time from the oriprw. epipbJ.ny of the
doctn.ae, may pem:n-e no dtfficulty in sering tbe COMCC1J.OIJ berw'e en tbe two. 1n tbh connection. it is in1Ctcsting to
tttalt th:lt not long lI.go. when Ramakruhna:. PamIllAa_. the modCT'O l-hndu U,\'a.nt,. 'WlS at his mort entit:31
st!.ge of lht:ophatnc de\dopmtftt,. it \\'SJ 4 Sikh a.scctic, UdMi Totapwi. who ifnp.3rted to the Pl1ra~ the: SIklJ
esotenc mstruCUOQ dliOlC!oUS fat mDQvmg 1Olpedamen.u (In the sptntual ~th, acd tMt is ""by lhe most illustrious
CAlk. of the PI11'U'lMcnllCl, S","3.mI VI\-etan'Stld, so often uttem1 &!1d introdueN intJ) his "''1i.tUlgs. the Slkb mystic
formula, r~T\I. Apin. the Manth3. upsufle o f the ISm o:ntury. the »ride and symbol or the pohtiCll
con5oClnusness ud se1f.l't;s~ of lht modem Hindu nauotlSllsm. IS ad,mitttd as ~ ..'ilIJ: bctn duTctly i:tspimi
and oouoshcd by the ttachiDp of Ralndu &tmnnA, tbe spintuai JU16e of thl: In:3\ Sh'Jji. and it b a truI:
though obscute r~ct; of history that Ramdu &_rih IS dmclly U1d~bt.cd to the Slkh teadUn.,p as imparted to him

J. X#/J._tilcM1J...-sWII. 1:IIblr. 2. "..-A1II, 1. 1. (i".rtS~.V

 [ m J
"fttn he m~1 the Sn.lh Narl3lc. Guru H.1rgobind, In Kashmir.
In J63·1. As Ibe Gurumulchi ma.Quscrlpt (Kh3113
Colkge Library, Arnriwr 1780 CjlTd), Pod:i Ptt1lja6 Sal/hall l('t'Ounls, the Guru bughl the Mamilla soun1 Ihal
the Essea~ orS.khism is 10 be In ascetic Vrojtbm and Sttular Without. fOJ Guru Nanak I.tU8ft, ml'lnldnd '0 IrafU("~nd
the 11ttle eta and the :l~:nnttl and not \0 rtnounce the world, whttt1)pon the Maratha Dint eJ.cbimt'd : '"This
appall to my mind l." The in1pi~r and p~pto r of the founder of the Arya Satrulj. Vtlj:ut3.mt a high<1lste
Drahmin. nllhe of N1I1arpur in the Punjab, f,ad before selUmg doWn at Danaru as II. Veda. learned man
imbibed the Sikh dedul.lion that "unless the manlcind ptly. heed to Ih.n which is trut essentt orall rlda, n:&m~IY'
the doctrine of the N:tme. Ihey shall remain confused and misd'irttted''', Be thai as II may the ctreas of tb;
seminal jdca.s of Sikhism an be shov.n to h3ve mouJdtd and shaped Ihe nH.lre hiuol)' of modem IndIa:.
Whal is the discipline. and the pr.tctice which Sl.l::hlSm recommends as necessary and dlicacious for attain-
ing this Ood-consciousness. and for yoking it 10 the evolutlon:uy ut,e:e (or It:lJ'Isform.1t/On of 1,fe and humanity on
this eattb, and on the pbne of mundane existence r It IS the doctnne and ptaetu:e of the N3.me. "In the age
thtOUnb ""bleh hum3nity is p:tSsing now. no odler praetlee but Ih3t of the Name is efficacious. Therefore
practIse the discipltne or N.lIm~". This meSs<lge JS repealed '8£3.in and 3gam In the Meh Scnpture "0, my soul'
\hn~ is nG help b~t in lhe Name. olbe' ways llnd practIces art not so sun.·" '
Now, \\hat is thIS 'discipline of the Name' which Slkhiun teaches . s the essence of the feltgion for man-
kind in tbe present Age I
In the history of rdlgion, brnadly speaking, five paths have bten recognised ilS efficacious fOt ladIng to
hbC"r.ltion. i f., for ac:hie\('ment of the .IIIIImllm loon!!," of relIgion. 11) dISinterested action. known u the A"arm(f.
VO!1!I in. lhndu rthgious thought: (2) de.\0\10n. kllOwu .S &0.'1\; (3) ,"0$11, the. Jl'lQIt, (.f.) the nzual, knolVn as
TujlW. ; and (5) uccw:nm. n::uccralioD. or tapa-t Thu fiflh and tne la~t path to IJberahon is :l typical IndIan
coolributl()n to lbe tustory of rthgJous pr:lCtlce5. All the other four have been. mort. or less. universally a~pl~
in some form or other, with V1irytlll degrtt! or stn:ss on each, as v.alld p:iths to J.bcra hon 10 the Stkh Scripture.

~~~lh:~:I~~:C:~!, ~~~~~~do:~=: o~~ ~,eml:~~U;:~I~e~~;I:~~~;~u~:' ~::~~:~~~r ~~

ill.om of the 'Nriunp ,tstlf roshids sm:h an approa<:b. but tbfOUgbout liS voluml:lOUs pages 1\ is stressed again an;
.sain wilh • 'Autth o r metaphor 8.D.d uuas:ery. dlustra.llve m.atensl and uposlhon, that, Ilt t he present 5lage or
mankind the dudp/tne of the Name JS the only swublc and efficat'Jou$ practIce ror leachng to the VIsiOn of God

:: :~~':t~~:;~~gw~rek~~tJ:I:::;~~:~:t!~o:~e;~:une~~~ ~~~:~ese:fb!:~~Ou~'!u~:~~I:;I~:
that It is a pdrt and p~l of the genenc dlsclplme, "the pl1JctlCC of tbe Name". «The mflltatlOn and Ihe Sickness
.!:::
in the wul of man can be removed only by tnerce.ming it wltb tbe cbeml<:al of the. Name'" "The VlSllm or God
is not ~3.Ster to have by any other ende"aYour than that of the Name aod man en&age5 in this effort only by good
fortune', ror all tbe other dISciplines and p!'l1cllcc$ pale into I1lSJgnw.cance berort'! tht'! p('3c!lce of the Name'''. It
IS asserted tlut the true kno .....ledge JS a flUlt of the practlce of the Name:' and tbat deYoMn, BMItj, It a corOllary
of the dIsCIpline of the Name'. It IS further stud that .disinterested action. the pracflce of Rarma!logfl, is a
natural dllJlO'ltlOn and prOpenSIty of the man In whom thedl~tlphne "fthe Name. 15 f1pcncd P"(lbhli .tau "'marQhi Ie
po.rop'ul'\'t.

\he. t~~~~~I~;'y~~~~~~~~o~~~~~a:~~~:t:~~~;;t~~:I~~et~~~~q~e'~~s;n:;,7 ~~~~~ere:~e~~~d:;

the emotions in the service or one Jupreme end, and a socto-politlcally 1/Chve Me", mOlivated not hy the Jmk CS\\
of the imI"Lvjdual but by all wdiVIdual self which IS yoked to the ulI.Iver1al Self
1"he technique of Yoga has aroused a great deal of loterest In the West, and III the whole or thl:: mOdcrn
world duM. lhe recent years, but mostly 85 a lecilIliq ue for achlevmg roeolal POISC and phYSIcal he.alth. thOLrd1
this}, not tbe true purpose or the: SCIence of Y oya 8S ongwart,. CQlIC1:lyed The coucept of YOIJ<I, thougb.not!be

1. U",]"ifoCIi"WII.~~" 1. R",..b{'.A~ lIl. 3. A .... ,. "G.. url.Y. oS J"p •. l.

6. C-' $"*It_"', Y. 7. Sutlttr#url, Y. 8. c..rl: 7"'1,. Y. 9. $tJ/cIt"."ffI."'.
 ( IV 1
terro. is. as old as the Rig Veda tts.elf That the Vedic material is complex is recognised in the Niru1do. itself whicb
takes account of several methods of its exegeslS In tta:nt ti.mes, p3.tticularly by Western schoLars of archaeology,
It h:u been suggested that VediC material h pnmarily bistorical events transmuted into myth. It is said by athe~
that it oonSlsts of poetIc txorihuD1 to the :Brahmanic: ritual. There u then a theory, rtcent1y revived by Sn
Aurovindo Ghose, that the Veda is 8. .. ast Piece of symbohsm representing the pas$}om of the soul and its striving
for hi!!hest splntuai realms, a concept which he himself has adopted as the prototype of rus mat poem. the
Sarit';. Apin. Berg3Jgne suggested the theory that all m)1hological portrayals in the Veda are variants of the
sacred tire and the sacnficlal liquor, the toma l • Whatever may be said about this last as a general theory of
m.tttpretaboo of the Vedas, It has the merit of suggesting a method wluch appea.rs to be plaUSible. for. obscure Vedic
texts ass'Um~ Stlme k,ind (If CO~~tlce 11\ ~neral If in them we .seek an attempt at portraying correspondences
between the world of men, the performers of the yujna. and t~ immatenal ethereal w(ldd of the gods. in shott
the microcosm and the macrocosm The primary functu,m of the ri"hWl, the reveakrs and preservers of the Veda.
was to ensure the ordered functiorung of the m.undane world, and of the rebgious ritual, by reproducing thl: suc-
cession of COSIDlC e\ents, in then ritual and JO the imagery which tbat ritual embodies. and this is the true
meaning that the Vedic ritU3.1 signified. The term, "ta, the ba~lc concept of Velhc unagery, IS a designation of the
cosmic order whlch .sustainS the human order, the social ethics and the social coherency. Terms such as dharman,
l.tulil, h.s\'e a two-fold sigruficance accordmg to whether they refer to men or tbe gods, to the plane of the
adhylllm'lm or the wIJlIIlairo/am, as the Upanishdas poin~ out. Thus understood. the Veda portrays the roStnlC
magical syniliesit, symboltcaUy expressed The COsmtC order is conceived as a VlUt Ylljltfl, the prototype of the
!Jl1j1lll wbkh the Jmn must ~rform to as to ensure the lntegmtton of the two Thus, Vcmsm is akcady a form of
contctivc::, communist Yoga 1n v.ruch the goos and men both play thel! parts as WltnesSes and participants. It is
this .stramor thought whtch al:COunts for the yearning of the Hmdu mmd that consuntly seeks hidden Comspon~
dentes between tbings which belong to cnhrtly dll'fertnt Conceptual systems. The science and the t echnique of
YO<)<I'. as It bas been developed ID India for thousands of years, is thus as old as the Hindu thought itself. The
teon comes from the Sansknt root. !luj, which means 'to yoke, or join together'. As the spectfic science of spiri.
tual disCiphne, it is mtended to SJgnUy the unIOn of the individual self WIth the UrUversal Self. the Vision of God
or the absorption mlo God, As an art, the technique of Yc!p h3s bet-n used, since the begmDlDg of Hindu
histon~1 times, as the archaeologlcaI dlSCo,'enes recently made in the Indus vaUey Mohenjodaro show, where a
big tank surrounded by un\ entllated cubicles, designed to ensure deoxygenation cakulated to alter body chemistry
raciltl:Ltl,\e of mtro\ertlOn, has been um:arrhed,leoding support to (he speculation that, a1~y in the m:r..t.r..'OnA.
beCOfe the dawn of the Chnnian Era, the an and praellce of YO')G was well-developed and wdl-estabh$hed. Its
techniques ~d tea.ch.mg'l bve been accumuhtro through. a continuous st~ of adepts who have handed them
do....." from g~llt.rabOll to gtneration. Patanjah. a. Hindu savan1. of the 4th century Be, is the author of the
t~t. Yogasutra. which h now the most ancient text extant on tbe sCience of Yoga, though its opening
41ltrn S3y$, "Now, a rem~ text of YOiJ(I" , which makes it clear that this text IS, by no means,
tbe not of Its ~lOd. The pbil050phlcal basis of this system of Y"!7a, as expounded by PatanJaJl. is the
&t1l11!ya, which teacbes trut the ,",orld order is ris en and is an expansion of the highest kind or Intelligence
the 31aAat , that there 15 no part WlthOut An assignable function, a vahle, a purpose; that there is alway;
an exact u-JectlOn of means for the productton or defirute rnds: that there IS never a random aggregation
~ -c... u.t.s. \\'A\ \M....e '4 mt!, ng.:,\'20'U% 'MYd !o~\'t17l. n 'J'.'Mw.hw. \~o u'ium::tte ~'utles, The Spint and: the Matter.
the PuT'IUM alld the PrIll-nil, to account for all cXpenence. as logica1 pnnClp!es out of which aU thiog$. evolve.
The fundamrntal tenet of the SaIfUytI IS th3.t creaLion is ImpoSSible, for something cannot come out of nothing
tZ llihita ,..~d fit, and that the real movmcnt therefore only consISts of modification This is the central doctrin~
o(lhe S4nU!f'l.,and u called. #flll.P.ryq ~uda, {Sa7t}h!fl Karil-a, OJ and II!i whole systernevolVes from this as IU logical
ground The &",u!f!l dlvtdes thiS rrocess of cosmic modtficatlon Ulto 25 (ategories of mind and matter and
shows bow the whole phenomen3. has evolved out of the$C (wo wurc.:es in &CCQroance with these categories Th
philosophy of orthodox J'ega postubtu that what lS true oft!!'ls m:lcrocosm 1'S also true of the buman Il'iicr~$r:
and that, u. the m.dlvldual soul hat mvoluted. through a set PfOCCS$, out of the uru-versal Spint, it can, by the
 [ v J
reverse process, evolute into the universal Spmt The Yoga assumes that thl!' mdiVIdual soul IS the part and
parcel of the unJversal Substance, but so tnvolvcd m the conteu of TIme and Space as to have lost at! recogrution
of its true nature. The Yoga sets forth a know-how and a technzque [0 bnng the II1dlvlduaJ back to Ius own and
original POSItIOD, to absolve hun from the clutches of matter and to return him to the essence from which he
came, and thus to abstract him from every aspect of Time and Space

Since Sdchlsrn abolishes the duahty of mmd and matter, It. by implIcatton, refuses to base the ptulosophy
of its discipline of the Name on the orthooox cate-gones of the SanUytJ The Sikh doctnne of the Name does
not assume .the tradi1lonal cosmologtcal theory as set forth In the &m1hya system but It docs assert that the b.:uic
Sickness of the human soul arises out of Its individuation, Its lJlvolutlOn and desC('nt from the umversal Spirit,
and that the cure and health lies III a process of evolution towards Its pnmal source, which IS God l • For thi3 It
recomm~ncls a psychologkal technique, the fint step and l'ogredient of which IS the mechamca1 repe111ion of the
Name of God accompanied by a constant and unceasing effort to empty thetnWvidu.11 mmd of all Its sensory and
ideatIOnal conteIlts, conscIOus as well as sub-consdous l. SIIlC(' Sikhism recommends that religion must be tHea
and practised in the socrQ-p<llttlCal context, it has moddled tlu! practLCe of the YOIJrJ of the Na.me -so as to make it
possible and practicable for a person to pursue thiS dlsClplme slIDultaneously while engaged In eamlOg honest
livelihood. The compbcated technique of Yoga. as laid down in the text of PatanJalJ, and the philosophical conC('pts
by which It is validated, both go together, and the eatnlllg of hvehhood and thiS practice of the l"OoJd as It IS expli-
citly laid down. C:lnnot go together, In Sikhism, this prrdlC3ment has been transcended by e .. oh'ing a technique
whkh is at once practlt:able and efficaCiOUS TIus pracbc:e of \he Name IS mecban1C31 to start With. but has its
dynamiC adjuncts. without which it cannot succeed The first adjunct is the ethical hfe The SIkh Scnplure:
lays constant stress on it that unless 11 man leads an ethIcal hfe be cannot come mgh unto God, although Sikhism
docs not confuse the ethIcal commandment and value WIth the rdlgJOus experience and \3lue as such. A Sikh,
engaged in the dlsciplme of Name, himself must lead a lae of the highest ethical purity. In word, thOLlg}Jt and
aeea. and every faltering from this path of rtttitude constitutes a stumbhng block m the path of 1m ultimate realI·
sation of God "A man of re!IglOn must be wbolly motivated byethl!:al rules of conduct l " He 15 bidden to rely
upon pra~r and the company of holy men to support and sustain him in hiS bEe of ethical rectitude. As he
prog~f>~e~ in the path of spiritual rtahsati(m, be must d~ it as his duty to persuade and help. othe" to tread (he
S3.me path through socio-polltlcal activity wbich must be progn:sslvely punfied of all taml$ of selfishness. TIllS
is the doctnne of'&va> of Sikhtsm, Without wrueh. the Sikhmn decbres. tbe practice of Name does not frucllfr
1l is funher laid down In the Slkh Sc:ripturt that the dlSClplme of Name must be constantly vitahsed hy
BJlQkii, devotion to God "Increase your devotIOn to God In an ever-ascendmg measure so that your mind may
be wholly punfied·". The ",ord, BlIal:t, has the literal mearung of, 'well'Joined' The word. ""alti, OCCUrs in
the SI'dM~~/ara> the 4llCtent Hmdu text. whtch Otto Schrader in his /k,. Bltlduimtu,y Cfubmgen. 1930, p, JI t:llIs.
"the gate-way to HindUIsm", although the earlier, ramO!, 10 hiS Grrtmma,.. also IIppe;1rs to refer to it (IV,
jil,1)5--M) It W1);5 the Bhal'li pnnople "'hich brought about the tnlmtion from the neuter, to the penonal pnntiple
in HlOdu religious speCUlation SmC'e ShaHi is ')omlDg WIth' or 'participallon' in the God, It presuppose$ an
object distinct froID. the subJect. A purely monistiC eDVlronment, such as the SIkh doctnne proJects, IS cot a wry
fertIle ground for B1vJ.J:t., Bha!lI, therefore, h:u always been better adapted to a "aitnal'lk background whertin
a person:!.1 God is p<lstulated as assuming hum3.n and sub-human forms in the phenomen:tl ","orld The orthodox
Hmdu theory of B~aHi IS that, a God without attnbutes IS inattC$51ble, ana that, there must be an mtert'CSwr.
Sino: Hmduism hu no founder or prophet God·incarnatc. the 'Word m3.de flC$h', as the Chmllan5 say. this inter-
medIary must be olle of the human or sub-human fonns of Vishnu, ",hleh he ha.5 aS5umed In \:lnous Time-qdes
or the Cre3.tio!l. ThIS IS tho: wit:: doc:tnno: of Htndu BlIaJt., though gradually tt hu acq,ulrW many shades of
secondary meanings. Since Sikhism does tlot countenance attarrad, the doonne (If IOcatnalion of gods or the
God, it uses the tenn, Bhalii, in lIs prisllllt: 5tnse of canall21ng and 5ubimUltmg the whol.: emotive ('aug of the
individual to sustam the contInuous yearnmg for a viSIon of God- TIlls fonn of BJ.a!ti. the SIkh Scnpture

I. Nf/I"DrlJtl1lal1pgrc"oz"HuaJ,I/~,-Ca1Uf. V.
i' ;~~a~v.s~~o,l:o~ i~~=.;' #.N. ~~";::::".-:;'pd":';';r-f • 1M p~ paral I;<¥N-CII/rI, III.
 VI

dctbres, i~ a necessary I1djunt.t oflhe dtSCi~line of Name:. Gur man mtfrio lur «lnjog, dina. rGoOi b~aljl)l;t.

The last adjunct of the dLscipline of Name. the Sab Scripturt says. is the intuitive undmb.nding of the
philMOphital truths whkh \l'lldetlle the wor1d of phenomena.
n.l!o is the true knowledgc, the gnosis. and the Sikh Scripture commends that a Slkb must al~YS strive by
study. by discussion, try JII~\b\ion -and by t:,"try men1al efron. to acqui.te an inttU~tu3.\ and intuiti.ve unde[~
sundtng (If the: mcnllfic and philosophic truths'.
ThiS, In sbort Qutli!1C, is the doopbne or tbe Name "web Sikhism In.ches as the JXlth to the realiS3.tioD
of t\'l1: God, and. broadly speabng. i.t consists of a syn~is of the three well..known pa.ths to hben.tion. ttcognised
in the religions of the matlkind. oamely, the: path of WI-interested aWon, the: p:1th of devotlOD, and the path of
);nowkdgc:, aU subsumed upder and practised as adjuncts to the grand discipline of the psychological technique
oUhe lI·amayogd. Them~em Hindu thinker, Aurovindo Ghose. in IDS own '\\;1)', ha$ tried to expound something
s.inillar \!M.er the title of ·I.nlc~ Yep'. tMUgh it IS definitely something less but c:tpn:ssed La. 3. more sophisti~
uled and modem literary style:.

It is, lh~KrOft. this dl1(;lphnt. or the Name through w}U(;h SIkhism. teeb not only to 1:t'oSure the continuous
renev."lIl but a firm a:lnKrVancy or the fundamental tradltlons of the grut rdlgions of the m:mlcind and. in addition,
it chertby seeks (0 dlSCO~r neW elptnences so as Co apply thnn for the purpose of a new inl(gt'3hOn of human
penoru:lllY.luch as would lransfonn the: nun ud hu: destinyolllhls urth.

Out of the five paths to hberatiod. generally followed by manl:md, the two, namely, the rifual and the
maC'tr.LtJOn, have not beeo rrcommendl:d and approved of by Sikhism. (or obvious reasons. The ritual. in its
origical enentt. is magiC and itl n3tuTe and funt:tion is diffmo\ from tbat of true religion as con~ived by Sikhism.
?-b.tIC seeks to control po\\CTS af nature directly through the: foree of spells and ench:intmenlS. white rehgion
recognises e;mtence of spmtual b:mgs external to man and the world and employs pe(5ua5ive methods of sacrifice
'lid prayer to procure tbtu lid M3g1C is coercive and dlet.11oriaI in approach while the ather is persuasive.
lobpc dtfottl.ds upon the ""'11., ltl 'fIhlch t:er\a\t\ '\hings a.tt la)d, a.nd cone rOt II p3.rtlCUUr pufpO)e 'oy '\hme 'Who po!!tSS
,he n~ry tI:ChnKlue and tbe pov.u to put the sUpl:llI3tural forces into effect. while rdigion is personal and
lurplu::atory. illS for lhit rtason that the p:nh of t be ntlJ31 aDd tbe yajllA !us been dncOWltna.n~ by Stkhism.

ASC'Ctu:;sm and maC"et:ltion M\'(. bttn hle-wisc dlSoOWnCd a1 desitabk pa\.h!l. to Ii.berations, for, tbtse
practices nettssanly Imphc::ate \\1thdrawal from sOCIa-poLlial activity, and Sikhism firmly discollragt:s such a with-
df\\'W-a1 In '1ew of Its basiC doctrines which cnviS3ge an ultim.;lte transformation of the IlIan and his destiny on this
1f\undane earth M tbe fnut of the tebllon. A true tdigloU5. thertfQfe, must not tnJttttate and 'burn away' his physical
frame through txceuive tllptU. but musl keep it in dlseil)bned be31th. "Nanak $3f$. the proptt caurse for man is
10 seek cammuruon with Cod by kttpmg hIS corportal f(lme disciplined and litt."

The arder of the Khtsa. whICh the Tenth N:wa.l::. Guru Goblnd Smgb. fO\l.oo«1, mU5l be 'Viewed in the
iuckrrnund af these doc:trines or Slkhi~m. as intmded to be a body af men who not onl)' pr:tCtlse the eSsential
.pmtu:tl doorllne lOr Slkbum U1 the sense exp13ined abo,·t'. but wbo are also pledged ta t'Mure, by tV1:r)' l(gltirl13le
f!\n.J\\. lhe coming \t\lo Ul\tm". \he. upamion, ud \hI!! pnSC1'V:ltion af a wor\d Society, viullSCd (ODMuously
by the alJ'~boo or 1he ((Ulhs (If re\lpon. which rd'ltOfl IS a ftuertCe of an the best trtdlUons or mankind. and
Vthich I'thglon n:,um, a 9oort<! culture- in which aU traditions of all 11l~ of mankind. luch as are eonsistttll
~lh ~ \l'lntu,,\ dltn1ty ~d the 'pmroa\ goal of IllIn. c:n panicip.:ltl:' an eqU31 tenns.

1.. j!.,. t.4o>I.a ~1IoN. t. "'" ,.un lQlI'IGl-C.rvf. Anpodl. ,V

). r.J-.IwI""_".'.'.J{J.4t1l14d.,,,lttld."$4Jt.J_.~ltl:rr.1
4 C.,n,l.
 [ vn }
II
TIlE SIKH TIlOUGIIT
The basic problems of Sikh thought are naturally the $:Imc as those of other \\orld ~hgioos. and as
may be expected. their trt:ltment by Sikhism is, in themam, 00 (he ltncs of the Hmdu and BuddhISt IPCCUbli\c
thought. Wherc:vtr Stkhism dtffers or departs from lhe~ lines oftbought,ll does 50, as a rule. not by Inlroducm,
Dew tmns or concepts but by tmdedmiog an almldy familiar conttpt or by ampW'ying or inlerpretwg .t otherwi~.
This h, as it should be, for, thw alone it is possible to effect a gmuine new advance or expanSion in the cultur.lI
and religious horizon of mankind and it is thus that all great cullum and Ch,hz3.tiODS have tmerged and de\-elopcd.

TIlE UNIVERSE

We have already said that, in SIkh thought, the final duality between the mailer end the spm! IS denied.
The basic Sikh thought is stnetly monistic ,"From One the Many emanate and .fin.1l1y Iota the One the Man)'
submerge l ." AU that exists, whether in the Conn oC phenomena and appr:lr;J.na:!, or III numenon and rt3llfY, h,
in ultimate comprehension. tbe Spirit and the mind. The indIVIdual nund, the numeroll5 Corms oC Lfe, and Ihe
inanimate mailer are all Spirit in different modes. Out of tbe own iniliatn-e DC the Spm! a proa:n DC {nvolullons
occurred for some limited purpose, tbe precise nature of which is beyond human comprehC1Ulon. The ere:!IJon of
the universe in its imtl.11 form, which the modem theorists, such as Abbe Lanutte (100'--1 all,
the Prim.aewl Atom. resulted from the i.r!:voluflolUry Impulse of God In 'hi! PmM e\'al Atom was ongioally
con~nlrated, io a super-dentc stale, thai which el~nded and dilinlegrafed. through An lnlilhetJC:al e\o!utioMty
impulse, for thoudands of milhons of years, finally Into the universe as it IS today. nus evolutioMry Impulse,
whereby the Primaeval Atom has issued mto the Innumerable forms constituting the Universe, 1Ia.s reached Its
highest pomt, up-to-d':lIe, in the cre.1tlon of man, and man, therefore. is the pomt In CfC3,tion from ." here the
lnvcnemovementofevoluoonm3yukeafurther leap towards the Splnt Th~ two procnses of involutIon and
evolution conSlllute a double but Slmuluneous movement and thus creation of the uruvene IS an involl,ltion-cum·
evolution process. D. descent and an ascent. The universe, thus, IS nothlOg but God in bctoming. '7he (onnJeu
h3S become all the Innumerable rorms, HImself. He thai is beyond the atlnbutes is Idenleal wlth all that in
whkh aUnbulcs inhere. Nat'lak ded.lrn the dOC1nne of the One Being, Uut . u D«onun,. (or, the OM indeed b
the Many'."
The m3in dOC:lnnes of Sikh theology are grounded in thIs view of tbe Ulumate RC3.hty and its nAture.

GENESIS

With Rg:ard to the tomlng mto being of the Prim.aeval Alom, the Sikh doctnne is Lh.:I.t the rl"OC'eSs was

~~~~~~~~e~~s~h~u:~g~Yo~h:n~~~~~~::·th:~eYl~:~~I~m~~~rC:~~:~~~a o~h~e;>~:I~I~:\~i·lh;o~~::
the (urther sl.Jt(fllmts made in the Sikh Senpture about the creation and cv?lulJon or the unlVrne are rtm..2riably
akin 10 the picture which h:u now been adumberated by modem specul.1tlon after uti"! Inlo accounl the d.ata
Rveakd by the rc«nt ad\':Incoes in obKf'\'aliOn.:l1 Aslronomy. One of the ~sle hymns an the Sikh Scnpture, which
rosy be called the Hrmrl of the GenesIs. nys,

"For thouunds and Ihouund$ or agn and (or millton' and mtlhons o( aeons, thm "':IS nothln, in th e
brgmning bUI nebulous de-nsl[)'.
Ndthcr solid,. nor sr.:tttS "'ere there. only the DlVlne Impulse nude berome.
Ncithe-f the- day nor night, ndthcr pl.uiC'l atld sol.:tr S)'1tcrns liar utC!llteS. bUI onJy God. self·absorbed'.
The .tm05phcrn. the impnmls wltm. the ptt-rondltlon, of all forms of lJ'e,

, J.,_, I.
 [ VIII I
And tbe sound. the proryle of all becoming. they too ~re not thert.
There were nO higber plues, middfe r:gions or lower spaces, ror, the Sp3('C as yet w.u not there; and
there was DO all-consumiog lime nthcr.
When God Willed, He crcalt'd tbe tlnh~rses.
The Cl(p3.D.5e was C3U~ witbout a formal ause.
None Jcnowcth HIs hmilS or limitlessness.
The: 'True Tt:'3cher revcakotb tbIS secret\"

MAN
The motn btlng the highest yet point In the process of creation, on the phenomenal pbne. where the (velu-
tion3ry impulse has apparently tlear~xhausted its mlttal momcntl,llD, it is mao on whom now the responsibility
rests for con ~t1ous\y revtt:l1islng IhlS unpuhc for a furtheI evolutionary leap. ''Thou. art the very essence or God.
Thtrdore, kno.... Ul.ysctr u. ,uch'," "The human body is the resting point of tbe procen of crcatton and it
IS from here that the further up\\"3.rd movement towards the God-ruluation sUrts. Therefore, now make an a11-
oul drort to l'Cach the Gmtl Md do not waste hulIlJUl hfe In fnvolttics' " H is the involution-cum-evolutjon
which IS "sponslble for the creation of the universe, and wruch after reaching the pOInt of human conscioumess
has reached 8 ,s.tasis aJld the m:lll 15 thus a voluntary dlmiaulLon of tbe inftAirude of God, for some obscure bot
bmi\~ purpose, as, indeed aU forms of existtn<:e tepresent a. dimin\luoll of God Since God is truth, knowkdge,
bUu, hg.ht, harmony and immortality, the UlVO!llted forms of crealJon are, so much Jess of all these. Man being
the stage at whIch the evolubon bas emerged 1010 self-consciollsm:ss, man IS capable of knOWIng that he bas
"Olchtd a part.tcular $l1ge of the cre,bve process, and be IS Clp:Lble, vohtionaUy, of uJti.ng steps to evolve upward,
to the next stage. ThIs IS tbe stage of tbe Bro~maj1l.ani, or tbe God-conscious man. and It IS to this stage of
C'\'olutlon, a vatue and dIStorted prt;monillOIl of 'Wblcb fmds cxprusion in \hc btel )8th and e:my 19th centutY
West Europcn IIteratun: in the form of the con~pt elf the Supemt3o. '1.0, I preaeh 10 you the Superman ; SUp!::f-
man is the roealllng of the dClh." said tf'ICWChe Again, 'Man is a rope slretched bc:tweeu the animal and the
Supe~n. , . . What is treat In maD is th~t he IS a bndgc and not a goal" , SIkhism 8grttS with this uCt'pt that
Si1;bism d~13res that Ihe me:uung of the earth reaches fal beyond Ibe stage of this 'Supnman' and Superman
as c.o1Itnved 1hus IS 1'101 onty MIl iD3.dt:qu3te and di5torted concept, but 1$ merely an mtetirn ttage. Sikhism endorses
Nietzsche thlt the sphue of the a.ctl\'l.ty of the Supennan, aad of the higher "till sta&et. of the e"olution, is the
earth. In the: sen$(: th3t It IS on this C3rth, and other SIMilar terrestrial spheres that Jl perfect hUm3.J1 society of
God-collSCloUS mt1), or p~ho-s~l perfeclJon, IS the ultimate ob)C'CU't'e or the unpluse of God whkh has origi-
nally pven nse to tbe process of crealJon In contra-dlslinction 10 all those ond pre:\loUs phtlosophies and
n:ll&lOns., Vlllith bUf,ht that the u\.tim:lte goal of m:ln was either absorptlOIl into God or entry mto a supra_
mundane Kll'Ic.dom of God, wherein there is abidmg propmqutty to God, Stkht$ID. urges man to diviruse the
whole of humanlt)' on this e.uth by transronrunc nund, lue and matter, tbrouBh a conscious effort and will. and
'\I.ltb the aid of the ,pnutual technIque or the: Namyoga, which is cap:lble or ITllDsron:ning the mental, VItal and
material Slull. of "hlch tbe man u made, into a subUe(, finer and nobler substance C3p3.bie of taking along the
.,.hole bell'lg to a \e\'d or U.lSte1'lCC, undrtamed of beron:, whe~ pure \r;;:nowledge, full harmony and divine bits!
would pre\'3u ThIS, Indffll, would be a Society of gods, aDd the u.ltlmate PUf90st of the divine impulse af
aeation IS the H13bhshmenl of thiS SOCIety of human gods in the temstnal spheres of the unIverse, It is the
tC2.chlnss of the Stith Gurus tlut the supreme duty of man t~ to make ao a1J-out eD'ort towards this divine goal,
and tbe Slkh (jUMa not only pOInt out thIS goal but abo reveallbe way towards it. "Hall, the Guru, 8 hundred
thous:tndstlrnC!. h..ltl. (or, he reveah the $«fet oremef~t tfan!J'otrnll\lon orm~n Into Boch-",

GOD
1'be SIk.h C'Ontqlt of the ulumate RtaMy u mOle akm to \he JudllC notion of an Almighty 1'enoo than to
the Ar)1Jn <OnCqIl a f an lmnunnll nuetnl i'rlJ)Qple. The MsIC rOCt\lub of SIkh theolozy is the; op:ning une

!- ~":::'k·i~;;/;"".J4 "'~/.f.:~;:. ~/'.'-.-I pilClcl!Q_AJO.1II 'Au, f'_

 [ IX 1
of the' Sikh ScrifllUrt \10 ttich ctur.lctCflK'S the ultim3te RulllY ., folloWl

"I. Ddng-Dcroming. Truth. Nummon, Crt~l or. Penon. Non·theslS, Non-anlilbesll, B~yODd Times.
Fonn. Unborn. StIC"upruslon, u s ht. Gr.sClOUS."
MAYA
The doctnne of M:t)'lllus h«n b.ts~ to the Hindu and Buddhist spetubtion (rom the vcry btgmnmg.
The best knO\1oD work. arurt from the omniSCtcnt. J/aMJ"AarliJ. In which the term, MlZytI (rd.::llve truth). 15
emplo)td as II: rhilosophicll C'OnC'l:pl. is the metrlcd IrealtSC. hfJritD, by G3.Udp3d. wheI'C'ln. unlike the JIaAabAarla
(D~ &''3dBiu. >"'VIII, 61) the term is not blen forSn1nted but is expbined and ddin~ SLOt'(' the proper name of
G3.ud~d "''2.1 borne by the te3chl!'r of the (amous philosopher of Hiedu monism. Shalllara, the author of the
KariM m:ay be th e umc J'lCnon "ho might have hvt'd at the C'nd of the 7th century nus worle, Kania, IS usually
printed Wlth the J(alld"N!fl Upl"l.!AM, Ilnd for fltaCllC3.l purpose!, lS ~g:Lrded a put of It In language and
thought, both. it bt3tS a ITm,uhble resembbnce to BuddhISt wnllngs of the MaJ},ytmll School, and the critiCIsm
of the Hindu onhodolY th3t 'the monism of Sh:!lnura, In which the doctnl'le of J/nyn IS embedded, is, in te.lhry,
aypto-Budl1hhm". is not "nthOUI su'[ls\:mte. 1" the Kania, the world of appelf3ntt$ IS comp3red to the apparent
cirde of lite p roduced by ~hjtlln~ Irghted torch. This slrii;lng Image tirst ocrurs In the Jlaltra!/fJlIQ. UpmMMa
(vi. 2,&). It aho occu rs In the Buddllist Mahayan Krlpturc, the IAnl(Jr(ar.wlra, which purporls to be an account of
the ~l'tla!lon of (be tlUe Religion by Gaut3ma, Ihe Duddh.l. when he Visited Ceylon and th ere pve dl$COurses to
the King of the isund, R.a.nnj, and hi! wife, Mahamati. This lext reptsrnn a well· matured ph3se of spec-wallon
in Dud<Jh ism. as II cntioses the Hind u school of philosophy of the SanUuya, Pashup,1t, as well as other schools.
II includes a prorhrcy about lhe birth of NlIg3rjun3. the ~t B\KIdhlst savaal of Ihe "th centur)' A.D., and it
mentious the ad\'enl of Guptas ",hlC~ h ma rks the renalS5ance of Hinduism In JndLl It also alludes to the fresb
incunions of the Hun.n into northern l od13, which incursions destroyed the ImpeJlal Gupta dynasty at the ~nd
of the (jlh «tItut)" A.O Throughou t the 1I111du $pecub tlve and R'lipous llltr:IIUfC. evtnince, \lilt dOC1nne of
Maya is admltlt« as, In some way, an indep!:ndtnt pnnriple o f the prOCtt!l of CJ't3l1on True, the subtle S:lIlba
asserts IJut the princi"ie o f Jf4!JQ IS olfimuNutifid. that is, it can neither be S3Jd to (list nor nol to tJut A is oetthec
A, nOf not-A. Wh'lever ebe Ihis S13lt'f11erlt m:ly mean. II does implIQle tM t MdVQ h3la poSJln 'e elUsten~.
Sikhism d enies Ihe dJ)C1nne of Jfd!Ja. thus concclvt"d. As ignorance and ntSCtence h3ve no poSitive exlStence, they
mtTti,- being the a~u of th~ seir·hm\t~ u\Votuted Spirit. ilke""'I\!:, Jfoya. LS such., has no poo,llIve existenee. It
is merely a Woly or 5.lyin: tlut the Indlvidu:d consciousness ptfCtlves the rt:31iry only 111 the form of p:utiai
kno","kdge. which IS so on acrount ofth.e proct'u ofmvolutiOn. As the darkness IS merely a neg3llve a spect of the
1igbt of t he Sun, sirnitnr IS the oS(: with ignotante a~d nestltnQ:.

"Whal is thcre posifive to which we can gIve the name of MQya? What poSItive actIVity the Maya is
<2f1abk: of 1 The hv.m3.n sout IS subject to the pleasure and p.:un pnCtlple in it.!. very nature as long as
it operales on the mdlvidualed plane of consCiousness' "
n l! Interpretation of Ihe concept of J[a!fIJ in Sikh theology h:ls far·ruchlng eonsequen~s III so fat as It
pull! !tle Hindu mind out of the slough of much mdolent introspective pre-occup3tlon and subJecllVlsm, generated
by the belief thaI the whole world of the appearances m WhiCh man it born 10 pursue his sOCJG-pollllcal life, IS
no more tNl th3tt a ptunI3~ma&oria m the mmds of the gods above. Dy glVlng 4 fou nd.1tlnn of solid reahty to the
world of aj)pC3t3nce,. thu rt"lnterprelalion of the concept of Maya confetS :I sense of rt'3Iu:y. 11 feelmg of urgency
and 3n objechVJty to the whole frame ofmmd, Which is necessary for the al\·out eITort to speed up the evolutIOnary
prooe$!,. throu gh the human Witt. and this u the core of the preceptJ of Sllhncn. as a way of ILfe

ETHICS
The fatt tMt Jdlg10U1 upenen«, pt'f It. j'S non-moral, "'a$ ~ known to
Hindu thought from the very
be, mnin& In the West, it hu been ncogrused cle:uly onJy In ttQrnl tunes. Jt \\';lS Dr. QIIO who in his Idea oJ
2 SrlrQr.Asfpo4J.lJI.
 · ( x)
1M Holy. about a qU3rter of a century .ago. made th" point fin31iy de'3.r. In the )udai<;;. n:ligiou! \r.ldiuQI1, for a.U
practical purposes, ttllgious Me .lad ethical ( onduct appear to have ken Idcnt1fied. The ten comm:lOdmcnts
or M ~ 1m ethical p~pts In the Koran. it is these cthtcal commands which are p~ted .s the dstnce {)f
relJgion. Western scholars are somctim" sb«ked at t1'Ie stones nurated ~d adored in the ancient Hindu tCItS.
of the deeds of gods wlucb do not cont'onn ",i\h strict tthic3l sunduds and abOut which the n:nnlor or the story
Cq.cessei no rooral horror and pa1$CS no c::eDsori31 judgment. From this. the Western ruder erroneously coDdu-
des that, ethics has nO place in tbe Hmdu rcLglOUS practice and tradition This IS far from tbe truth. From tbe
very beguming. in the lUndu thought alld tradJtzon it ruu betn Tttognised th3.t ethical conduct is the very
foundation on which the 11ft of a tWgiQUS must be bucd The rules of couduct of the Buddhi\t .vam.aIl.S. the
formulary of conduct of the IJ.U1 6Aibhu,f, t he dsily rules made obllptoty (or a Brahmin in almost aU tusie
Hmdu t exts, betr ample testimony to tbe (act that the relation of ethics 10 rtllgion hu aI\1o'llys been considered as
Intunate by the Hindus. 11 is tnze tbat \he H mdu thought fteOgDises that \he m:tn of bightst re.hSiOllS el.perience
IS, h'ke the Supe-cm.m of Nletzscbe. beyond good aJ1d evil, but that is not to SOly that in H m.du tradltion the
ethical \'alu~ have no place in religiOUS Me. In Sikbl$ln, while it is recognised that the rusbest religious
npeneDce is llnmoral and belongs to a category or value which IS Dot eth.ccaJ, it is nevertheless Stressed t h3t
wjthout stnt\ ethiCal purity of (:Olldu(l there IS n o possibility of any ad\~ in the I"Cbgious experience. A rtlIgious
hfe. no t strictly gcounded m ethictJ conduct, or a ~Jigious dlSCipltoe wblch igno~ the elhica1 requirements, is
colUidered in Sakhism a gmtt error. '"Tbe S«d of lbe ttsl.tllle1l1 of the Guru canao! germinale n«pI in the field
of ethICal conduet, constantly irrigated by the 'A'a\ers of truth'." "A man of rdiglOD is e vtr cbar.1C'terist:'d. ·
by etblcaJ.deeds. honest hvin\!. lincenty of heart, and a fevleu passion for tru th l ". " Nanak r:naketh this p ubhc
dcc:larallon, let all men ponder over It. EthlC3l conduct u the only tru e foundation of bumsn ufe on earth"...
Sikhism, thus. bys a itrtsJ OD morallty whieh raises the moral law (0 a high status whicb ...."lIS Dot generally
countellanted by the Hmdus and Buddhi!>H.. The Boddhtst "d Brah:uru\ic systems appeu to Assume l3.tJl1y ti13t
mondity IS a mUllS to (( lIaly and it IS not obeditnce to a lavo> which exists in its 0Wtt n,ght as demanding
obNJ.etI~, what ImmAnuel Kant Collis, the Cattgondl Irope13.th'e. It IS true chat by them mon.l conduct is
rt"prded lU govC"f'DCd by \he tmIrul: bw, calted, \he bw or Kdr7'M, wbicb mUlls th3t good deeds bring good
resWlS a nd evil deeds bnngevll , eJulu. Sikhtsm. ho~evC1". nJStsrtlu<:al conduct to a higher and more SO\lt ~ign
$lalus. and aWces II as the lIVe C ~prtSSlOD oftbe humony orbuman persoD3lity wilh tbe Will of God. AU cthiea1
COnduct, tbadort:, IS not mcrely COnd\lCll'c to good results such u. happiness. but it is, pnm.:uily, an act of
H ub\.J.shn'ltnt of concord betweett the hum3.n persooaht)' a.nd the Person of G od. Since this COnc.crd is tbe
highest end and the goal of human eXIStence and endeavour. h is, therefon-. the basic ingredJCDt o f the highest
activity of awl whlcb IS rehgion. Thus. S1khlSm, ""bJle rccogmsi.ng t hat thc Order of Reahty which is revealed as
uuttKllon to the. hutnan et.peri.cD.OC 1S not ideo.t\CU with the category a f .:tlucal uperi.entt, I'
unequivocilly
emph.ulUs th.lt the two C!n.Dot be diyon:ed or uparattd and. that the nature of the numcnon IS StlC'h that its
R~t1on tS unpou.ible Without ethical ccnduct.

In thiS way. the Sikh tbough t (uses the HlDd u thought and the semitic tradition on the subjett af ethle-s and
rellpon

FREE WlL1..

Europc::tn pbdosophy azKl theology ha.ve been much e:r.tm£ed oYCr the SUbject a( the flU: will while th
Hlndu tradl\lon t.as eonsldemi \hIS t opic as of m.lJ!or lmponanc: Th,e e:lpb.oat!On for this lies in tbei; l.n3.lytiQl.~
un demanding of the COncq,t III European tho\l~t, an tndl\lldtUl IS conceived of as a permanent fu:td enft
b;ulCllly ~r.Ue from the rest of the world.which. IS his universe It IJ argued Ih:u, Wl tliout freed nm of ~ill ~~
\S DO monl mponSl\nul). alld d' thm IS no moral Rspon ~bwry . there can raeltber- be pII11 nor p u • h t
either 10 SOCIety. or hcr=Rer. before the throne o f God This p~bktn hu not m\ltl\ Uaublcd the HU::;~ :~d'
(M ,.,.o~. 10 the tint place.lhe ILDdu thou~t ncbtly COnsidm Uut thcre IS no such thing as .a completcl;

I . Srl<w,. I. 1. c-t SIIA.u-t. JI. l . $Drar!.J.

 [ XI J
independent and $table entity. called the mdmdual. and m=ondty. tbc Hmdu argues. .nd qUite ngblly, th:ll if
tbe bumao WlII is not r~ then what docs 'he term 'frttdom' mean? What InSUnct shan we bnng fof1h with
which to contront Ote suppose-d dcterminal10Q of the hUmaD Will J Our Dotton of 'frw::lom' IS Ulallenably <k:n\'td
from our OWQ npcrience to which \\C gLvc the 11:11'1\(: of 'wlll' WMtt;vcr, therefore, we may nxan by
'freedom', it is uJtinuuly in the terms of our expmcnt'e of our own will, Ih3.( we gn'c mtarungs 10 II. Thus
inlcrpmro. to say that hUman w111 is free is an a~om and a tautology There IS 1)0 mearung til the thesJ, that
hum'ln will is not free. fOf 'fr~' is that which u ILkc unfo the hum::m will. The trouble, hOWl:vcr, ames when
we gnc to the upressioo 'rw~ mIl', 11 meaning which we have not denverl from aDY dC'cp analysIS of our exp.e.
riente of our witt but \"Vhleb h3.vc bet» ruperimposed by our intellect. Thus. we Itlce to Ibm\: that, 'free WIll' IS
!lut poy,eT of volltion of the hUIUan indIVidual wIuch IS totally uncaused and unCOl'Jdlltoned A Ltttle reBection,
however, ",ill show th3.t such a 'freedom' does Dot, m fa.ct, exist and further, that U It dId and could exist, It
Wilt destroy all founl:\:ltions of 'mora) responsibility'. 'guilt' and jusbti~\IOn fot 'PUlmbment', eIther here or
hereafter. To tJ(gU1 ~Ith, there are the facts of heredity, the c:nVlforunc: nt, and the: sub-consc:zo tl~ mmd There
i~ not much doubt tholt the tndividU3.11S the product of his heredity, the Inner mecharusm of which the sCience of
biotogy ha, P3.rli;illy discovered recently in the fc:rtillZC:d germ-cells and itl &en.eS, whlch make all the orgaruc
a:lJs that make up the body, including the brain and thenetvoussysll~m. This p:uternweinhwtfrom our parent!
and our anc<stors, ."d It is cenainly a determinatIon oftbe cbolccs that we make m our lives from lU1le to time.
New Psyc:hology has rc:ve'-"ed to us the: sub-consc:zous layers of hUm:ul mirtd :1$ the seat of Instincts, emotIOns, and
intuihons, act\Jmwated, for those who f:l.lthfully follow the: dogma of the Church Counc,1 of Constantlr1ople (5;;3.
AD), which AIl3.\hctl'):kti!ied the clottnDe of tran'SlIngra1J.on, m the face pauern dunns evoluuoD of mlllioos of years
or, (or those wbo hold the doc:tnne o( metempsychosis ~s fundamental, accumulated It:! the course of milhons of
previous births and I'Cbirth! of the mdiVldu:lI. They arc: certa1nly a detcnrunant throughout a man's Lfe UI the
mattn o(hls choice and the conduct tM.t (ollows it. Again, ((om. ouwde,lhe soclal enVlfonment is a<:u~ 11\ con-
tinuously inOUtnCUlg and moufdJ.ng an indlvidU3I's mmd, and thereby his po'o\'er of choICe and coaduct These
th~ fadon . the phYSIcal. the environmental. and the hc:rc:dltary, an: there as a faet and their powers of JDftucnClDg
the hu[ll.la powers of choke cannot be dent(d, In thiS context, then: cannot be a free WlJI, as an uncaused and
uncondilioned factor whlcb soldy determmes as to wbat chOIce: aD IDdiYldu.:a1 will m.al:e But even If (here were
sucb a 'f~' will. it win entail dISastrous con.scqueoeH for lhe SClmte of ethics and the doctnne of moral
Rspooslbiltty. If a man's actions I!:re not Cree when they can be shown to' be causaUy e!laioed to hts chaf'llcter, the
lum total of rus heredity, PoUt expc:rienct'S and environment, tben tbe only ClJ"eumstanen 1n wtw:b it would
be proper t o can a man, '(rec', would be: those in which be acted independently of hi, reec:wc:d character. Ih:I.t IS,
of hls babllS, desires, urges, and p:rspc:ctive on Me and all the rest But If tb.lS agtnt of 'free' actlOD, is not to
be identified with that which is subject to pamcular desu'Cs and urgn, which IS cI[CUmsenbed by a "ven environ~
mental and c;UC\1lllstantlal set-up, whtch IS devoid of character. mljltJves, persistent inteftsts aad the Ltke, tben who
is this aseDt of '(rcc' ChOICC, the 'he'f Such a notion of 'free' will completely dissolve the agent of actlOo; a
penOD with sucb a 'free' Will is a completely dlsembodled and uOldentm'l\>le eotlty. Such lln entity can neither
be blamed DOr praised, nor held tc'sportSlble: for what It does, for It would be clearly unreasonable to hold an
indiVidual rt'spoDsible (or hIS actlorts uwe dId not think there was a causal COODtel1on between Ius character and
his conduct. When we ca.n. show that there is no s.uch ccnnectJoo, as, for illstance, th3.t an act IS comll1lttcl as a
result of CO¢tcion, we do not normally hold him responsIble. The reason IS not that the One act is 'uncaused'
and 'Cree', wblle: the olber is 'determmed' The reaSOD lies in tbe h!\d of the cause, 10 the one ease the eaus~
Ilcs w the chaf3cter of the Individual over which he has, In some sense, control. whtle In the other case he has
no such conuol. As we gain !lew knowledge about the J,:mds of ,auses tblt a/Teet conduct, we change our mmd
about the 'unds of bc:h;\VIOUf for whleh we should hoW. men mponsib~ The recent shuts of stress In the
5c:ience of Penology in the modem world. and the anCleat Wisdom of the: t:lst and west which iterated that an ladl-
vidual IS ultuna.tely responSible for nothiI:tg. must be appreciated HI tbe context of thts ana.lySlS. and not in the
superocW frune of reference of 'deter1ll1IDsm' and 'free Will'. "A mUl resps only that what he sows in thc field
Qf Ka,.,114 1", d«lares the Slkb Sc:npture. It SlffiuJlanc:ously asS«ts that. "Say, what preClst'ty IllS (bat aD; ImhVldual
 [XII J
on do out of his free choice t He acteth as the God WiUethl ". And the BlIagmdgita asserts that. "God sits
in the heart of C\ery creature with the consetjuence that all revolve in their set courses, helplessly, tied to the
wheel of JIaya t ." That man is free to choose and act to some extent, and to tbe ex.tent that be is so, to that
extent alone be is moraU)' responsible and subject to praise and blame, is a true statement; that there 15 no such
cnuly, and no such entity IS conceivable, wblch is wbo1ly 'uncaused' and 'undetetmined', and further th3.t in
tbe ulhmate analYSIS, tht whole area of lnlhviduality can be shown to be linkcl to a penumbral e3use or 'Complex
of taUS5 ",blCn ate supra-mdwidual is also a true statmu:nt, and these two true statements are not self-contradi<:tory
or inCtlm'Patible .,..,lth Uoch other. eonstitut~ the Sikh doctrine on the subject,

11us brings us bad.. to our immediate experience that seems to carry Its own ce-rtitude with it, that in some
sense we are free, for, we have the notion of freedom as the core of this expenence Stkhtsm. while Implicitly
taking note of the three factors, and the ultimate factor out of which they stem out, which determine the po~rs
of human ChOice, lays pragmalic stress on thiS fourth factor, perpetually present and operative in the human
mind, which IS the autonomous power of chOice. This autonomous power or choice is the diviruty in mao, accord-
ing to Sikhism, and It is thiS core around which the wnole human personality is constructed. It is thts central core
of the human personahty which is at the heart of the individual tonsciousness and it is. therd"ore, "tbe SOUlce of
all human nrisery. as "ell as the panacea of aU hts ms~". "Hew shall man demolish the pall of nescience that
!epllrates him ftom Goo 1 By being in tu~ w\lh the Will of God And how shall we know the Will of God !
N:&nak an$W'et!. It \$ ~bcdded tn the very CQre of human personalItY'."

It IS tlus autonomous power of free chOice which IS endowed to every human personalIty and by VIrtue of
wbicb the effects of the other three observable detenmrung factors of human chOice are loterfused and. thus, the
act of free human chol«: gives birth to a new event, whIch is not wholly determined, and whicb is not a mere
combination and aggregatlon of all tbese four factors hut wluch is a new event, uniq\le in nature, and potently
C3pable of gnmg nst' to other sunilar events in the future. 11 IS this power of free cboice that is lllc1uded inman's .
bentage ",bll::h ha,. the cap3.C1t)' \0 go beyond this hentage and. thus, within tbe limits glven, a human being IS free
to Sh3~ h~ own d~hny Nor are the other factors, hiS teceived charnct.et. the indiVIdual areumstanees merely
al:Cidenw and fottultously su~r imposed upon the individual. for they too are the fruits of his past 1.1lrma. of
many preVIous births and, thus, are self-determined. result of free choices made. When and why di.d an
individual make the first free but wrong choice r This quesuon relates to the Flnt Thu3gs, and therefore, u!lypo-
tAuu, the IIldlvldual comprehenSion falls at thts POlOt fot. "the son knoweth not the birth of his father"'.

This IS the view of 'free Will' In rel:nlon to the doctrine of the Karma which Siklusm teaches.

KARMA

• The doctrme of Iiamm IS not the. same as the doctnne of ~re-destination of tbe Chnstian theology.
Kamla IS, In a sense fate. not pre-desttnauon, for. vmmn the Lrruts given, and these hrolls constitute the Kaf7J'l4
inhented from the prevIOUs births. a man IS free ThIS KaT'J1l(l. IS not fllte because all thl!' time we are making our
o....-n. Rarma and dl!'termlrung the character of our further status and births. The doctnne of Karma, as understood

~~~[~:\l~~:;:~:~ :~::: ~l:~~~ ~~~:~~~~ ~:~l~;;~~::!~: :~~~:~~\~:~t;oa~da;~:~:~~~ ~;:u;

mu\! cnjoy and endure "lg.non.nt trund of mlnt. why blame Ged, fet the good and elil of this 1 fc c.
'II..'e
\'enly thy own Aafr>ll1···. But thn Idea dJ!fers from tfu: Idea of fate, as commonly undtn.tood in European th~ugh~
Ins.imucb II.! It I! not 1OI!';I;orable. for aU the llme we are mabni! ollr own Karma within a, context, the ~orc or
"'ruch u al",ays free Ilnd autonomous
- - - -- ---
I. c;.n s..u....w. y 2. BharrtWzIlII. XYIII-61
1. n--.bl~"~MJ.d_bJU1J-"J_Vtll' Asa,l.
.. J~. I 5. C_I SIll.II....."Il. Y. €. (;_1 Nll1'nIk-;,
 [xmJ
EVIL
The uiSI(nce of n il is the maIO uason, ar one of the mam (C'asons. (or the elUslence of religion. and tlte
explanation of eVil is a ~hicf problem of Ih~19gies and religiOUS philosophies. Whether II was God who creatt'd
evil and whethcr evil '$ due to mtt.u!e of the gtrt of free W\II. ate problems wt\l(::h GOnnan!l), oc:cur and recur m
almost all religions of the \\orld The main trend of HlJ1du thought on tblS proble-m I S that smet' tbe world
itsdf is unttal. the (~ist(m:t of nIl In \t ' 5 not of grn-Iet conctrn to the mdIVldu;).\lhan the world 11sdf A Hmou
would assert that the proper course (or the human soul i~ 10 seek muHI, J. btralion, or UI:IIson wllh God, by
ret\o'Unting and throe.noing ,his "am r.bow of appearances, ealled the wotld The Hmdu tbus IS not 'Very much
concerned 10 prove th:lt e\ll) docs not really eXIst In the world, or to c:xpl.1in why God allows It [0 e.XIS[ Slllce
the WOrld Itsclf is no more than a phantom and an Insubstantial dream, the evil luelf ~nnot be of a more endur-
ing sub~tanC'e, a nd, at aoy r31 e, it IS of no dlfl:ct CoOC'em to the man of religion SikhIsm cannot and, therefore,
does not adopt this VIew, m-cause SIkhIsm does not accept the ull1mate dIchotomy of the matter and the spirrt
and doC's not accept as an Independent entIty. the pnnclple of IllUSIon, i e. the .J!aytl SInce SIkhIsm postulates that
religious activlly must be practIsed In the sOCIo-pohtrcal context of the world, the problem of evll to It IS a very
much real problem. as It is to the European thmker SIkhISm, therefore, returns almost the same answer to the
problem of evil which tbe European pantheIst grves, namely, that ,moe God IS all thmgs and U1 all thIngs, the
eVIl is only sometlung which is a partial VIew of the whole, somethmg whlcb appears 83 such when not seen from
the due perspccllve. SIkhISm assert! that there IS no such thlllg as the pnnelple of eVIl, as some theologres postu-
late, although there are things in this world whicb Are eVIl. ThIs anfHheSls of eVIl and good, accordwg to
Slllllsm, is :1 tleCl:SS:lry ebar3ctensuc of tbe process of Ulvolutlon wh.rcb the Spirit IS undergoJng Itt the process of
creation of tJle world. Evd and good appear at one stage of thu mvolutlon-cum-cvolutloQ and they disappear
wben the process of evolution culminates mto the unitive expcnencc of God. J U5 t as the white ray of lIght splrls
into III vancpted specltUm whIle passing thrclllgb a pnSIn, and aga..rn pthets these mull rc:h romallc hues anto Us
all-absorbms wtuleoess, when it becomes itself agam. This uplanallon and statement of the doctnne of eVlJ
is laid down Ul a.Im~t as many word! U1 the SdArllalU o r the Fifth Na.aak, and also at uumnOU1; otlu::r pbee.s III
lbe SJ1r.h Scripture. " W".en. complete perspec1IVC IS grlDled to man, by the grace of God, aU evil IS 5ttD to
mdt into its primal sou-tee. which I!> All-Good'_" "Th= u no mdcpendc:nt pnnaple of eVil In the UDl~·etse
b«"ausc: God Is AD Good and nothillg, that pllX'CCds from All-Good, can be really eVIl. and tbere IS naught whIch
pr~s from ought but God" ..

NUMENON AND SANSAR, OR TIlE REALITY AND APPEARANCE

SallMlr is the pnlle/ple of change, wlueh determInes the world of phenomena, and In Hindu thought and
in many other systems of mataphyslcs, It has been argued that on tbls account it IS un-real. 1t IS presumed as
axiomatic that the real must ]lot be lOfected WIth change The baSIC theological formula of Slkhlsm, WIth which
the Sikh Scriprure opens, IS proceeded by the exegetic statement tbat, "all change, all evolutron, all that IS charac-
terised by the lime-process. IS ultrmately reaI 3"_ The Dumenon, the Order o( Reality, wruch IS revealed to tbe
human mInd through gliOSIS. tberefore, IS lIot sOlIlethrng wruch I S fundame ntaUy ddferent and away from the
phCflome.aon. That whallS altered rn the gnOSIS is not that what really IS, but It IS the mode of perception and
the .Q1UlJJy tofprehr~CUl of the J.IIwvjrl1.l.3l, wluch JS transformed,. thus n:ve3.hna the YL~Wl c,f the mJllUDDn U
IS tbis vel)' mu ndane and the material world and the phenomena w1uch IS freshly ~rnd dUferently prehended and
cogwsed by tbe human conSCIousness, when it IS enlarged and punfied Sikhism, therefore, IS tn agreement WIth
the aphofUm of the great Buddhrst pJuloSOphCT, BWdbagosa, who d cclartd, t ha t, " Ya4-.1'IIrI!QrM WlI.-lI.l1'1:anam"
tbat IS, "the flux and the Absolute Are the same". Th.is world of fleetrng appe31'llnet:ll that yo u see, I ~ In (act, th~
tnre face (If God and as l uch It is revealed to tlle conscIOusness of the em:lnClpa1ed man" "

I JUDJJn.}1W ' _/MMbIud,-GourlS"r.Iu/oIJnf, Y

.t...wu
2. 11,1 10« 14 JWAI /Jura, ortll "mal"eM" hfU -Sult.lt-'. 2)-1
) Jop"_ I <4 llmfIIrlJJl, ANWi. 111
 [XIV J
III
SOCIAL )MPI.JCATIONS OF SIKHISM
The life story of Guru Nanu. c:a1tcd the JQJUl'm.tdUi, the eartiest written record we bave of tbe c~ve1s
and \undenng1 of tbe Guru. records that Gllru Nand:; summt:d up tbe Sikh (('aets wherever be went. III the
following tnple p~pt:- '
Kird I1Jrc, Welnd dAoI"O, Nam J4po.
l('muM, thou shale cam lhy livehhood. by bonest ~e~tive labour, thou shalt sh3rc: the (roils of (by Isbour with
thy fellow ~ings. and, thou shalt practise the Disopline o( die Name.
Th~e are rightly reg:arded as the basic commandments of SckhiJm.

We hl.';'c ....trudy cxpbined, in brief, tbe imphC3tions And con~ueoca of the d,Jeipline of ttle Name 81Id
its Import fot the roan of religion. Thu dlsciplme of the Name, a new ~ynth"iud aDd iotegtaled Y"'J!'. is to be
pr3eti$td in the cootc:n of sOCID-polllleal hfe. in wru(:h min does not turD hls back 00 the society. and d~ DOt
noounn tbe wotld. 'The fint ' .... 0 pre«pls. \hat of bonest productive work, and sh:irlnt afil$ fruits Wllh fenaw
kings, :lfe 10 conshtute the feundation of the S,kh soci~ty, while the remaining lhitd is to 'VIt31u:e and ttgtner3te it.

Sl1r.h\Stn t1\"IU~ & umc, I.Ima\t withio $\&ht uow, wben \.be toc:al h~ritages of the different hl$lorie
n.atiens, civilis.atlons, peopl:s. :lnd rehgions will h:tve coaJescN Inte • COmmon heritage of the whole hUM31'1 family.
and Sllbism further declares that neither the D3tUr:11 sC1ences, nor ph.tJOSOphiC31 tnlCUectult sptclIbtions, which
inlegB\~ the bU1C rOl'ltep\\ of n!llufJll scienrts into philMopby ;lnd mtl:lpbys)C$. caD rescue mati from his stale
at inhcnn' lJmlbtlOn lind 5uffenng, and that lhe rtugious dl$dphne of tbe Name alone C3D do if. Guru Nanak.
S3ys.th3t,

"Evm if a hundred mOODS Inse aDd a thouund suns shine, all t.h.is ligbt combined elD1Iot dispel the
neiCirnce ....,th wbicb m311 is affilcted and whicb tbe bght of God, tbat is tbe reLgion, alone can dupe!
and dC\.uoy", (¥• ., A,.:J, 1).

The ,",ords, 'sun', and 'moeD', halt been used in this text by the Guru in the idiom which has bet'I1 set by the
V~ , for tht Veda.'s impnn1llpoft H indu Ary~n nund is ptnnJ.IItD\ atld 'UmaUtUab\e, even On those who Rpte-
sc-nl a reaction .pinst Vedism Vromn IS Det onl), a religion, It is e .."Cn more a technique, a t«hniquc: ot learned
theologUnJ and IruPlrN poctJ, ripta , "the qUlvttU:l3 DOes", and it romlltute:s also tbe J!imaMll, the jwuprudeoct
of 'he )'n)Iltl, tht n\~ aC\ Vedism has aho dev~loped a. Ilumber of sec:ul!tr discipboes. 5nch as pbonetlcs,
gn.mmnr. astronemy, and even rudIments ef teometry and bw, 1tOiJM,'f&IIf. is the old¢tt Ie~o. itl any indo.-
European 13ngUolse and in the Si,1tlllt/u the v.ords an: grouped as series of synonyms, These sytlonyms. a5
a.tr.I.nge'(i lD. lhe NI7M'ltU are, as a rule', secondary m't:lphyslC'31 acceptations, constituted and atTivtci.at in
accordance 'WIth the b.tU or OCC'\Ilf equhalences. In tbe Vtdl, the' WOtds employed are mu.ltivious, pol~i511ffi~nt.
and that 15 v.by the Vedu: Idlem IS des.eribcd as nfbollt: 'crooked', and for !.his In.SOn the Nirul14 C'Ommetll.1ry
U)~ tb:n, pml.!n burwt/a dn'll1l, the i;ods are m 10\e WIth tbe CJ)1ItIC. It is in this U"Q$C' dut the Rig Veda
dc:eb.rrs that "the moon took bIrth III tbe rtllnd 3.n.d the SUIl in the eyes (of the Co5mi.e Mau)'''. The lTIeUphysieal
correlatIon and occult e-qulV:t.lance ot '011'1011', t hen, IS mind and tbat of 'suo', the physical pet~ptiOtl, (he 'eye'.
1n Iht tut of GUflI N3nak JU\t quoted, tbe ell:presSlon 'moon' signwc:s t1Ie IlltegratioS sJ>CCtllaliollS of the
mind, ",hleh result In philosophy, based On the .tufT of the haste c:on~plS and bypolht1~ of lhcn:ltnral science!
1.J1c\\ISC, tht u:nn 'sun' here m~D' the objeclit'e natural SCleDet'S, the knolllkdge of which is derived thrOUgh th~
:=~;~~o;s~~:sU=na;:~I~~ 1:~~:t 'Under referrntt refers 10 t he Datural sc.l~nces and the systems of
 [XV 1
In the semetic Judaic relJglOos, the religton is equated wIth the law, which is reduced into dead letters or
utilitarian ethics. Stkhism emphasises that the ethlcat law is 110t religion per .!t , that the core of the religton is the
numenon, sacredness in the sense of nOD-moral holiness as a category of value, and a state of mind and a spintual
experience, peculiar to religion, but that the ethical law i~, in some mtlInale sense, a necessary adjunct of relIgions
life and a penumbra of the religious experience. It, therefore, insists on these three precepts as necessary mgre-
dlents of the life of man who would practlSe reltgion.
To begm with, therefore. in tbe society wluch Sikhism recommends as the pattern for the global society.
every indiVidual must engage himself in honest creattve labour. ParaSitism, in any shape or form, is not only
anti-social. but aoh-religious also. Secondly, these precepts of S.tklusm ensure that there shall be no exploItation
of man by man WIth capital. that IS, the accumulated wealth shall not be employed as an instrument of explOitation,
This is a necessary Implication of the precept that, the reIJgtous man must share the frwts of his labour With lus
fellow creatures. From tbis it follows, that Sikhlsm regards a co-operative society as the ooly truly religious
society.
'"
How is thiS SIkh co-operative society dlstingwshed from the modern concepts of a sOC13list society, a wel-
fare society, and a communist society?
The basic element wluch distmguishes a SIkh co-operative society from all these modem social concepts
is grounded in the Sl1ili concept of the world as the very "form of God." Barita rup, aud the status of the indivi-
dual a~ the very microscosm of God. Joti8arup. and an individual, therefore. must never be Imposed upon or
coerced. "If thou wouldst seek God, demohsh not the heart of any 1OdlVlduall ", IS a text in the Sikh Scnpture.
The Tenth Nanak. in one of hiS hymns. addressing God, says. that, "I pray to you. God, for thIs purpose, so that
1 may be Imposed upon by no authority external to myselfl." H erein bes that which essenually diStinguishes
a rehgtous co-operative SOCiety as conceIved by Sikhism, from the modem SOCIeties that are grounded in the
doctnnes of SOCialIsm, commurusm and welfarism
[t sententiously declares that "God AlmightY a10ne IS the undisputed King competent to rule ovtr men~
all mortals who claim the nght to do so are f31se pretenders 5 ," While Slklusm IS 10 sympathy with most of the
ideas WIth which It IS sought to jusbfy the Ideals of these SOCIal theones, and 10 fact maintains that the idea!
Sikh SOCiety shall be based Oil these Ideas, It IS out of sympathy With the evolution and growth of any apparatus
which enables a dass of men to explOit an mdlVIDual to suppress and subjugate him IU the name of abolIshing the
exploitation of man by man
It, therefore, follows that while Sikhism seeks to estabhsh a social pattern, and eventually a global society
in wluch the socialist Ideas of indiVidual welfare, equalIty and freedom shall have full apphcation, it is opposed to
any development which, m practice and reahty, seeks to curtatl and destroy the worth and inner autonomy of
the indiVidual. It IS for this reason. that SIkhism conceives of the religtou! evolutIon of man as a necessary and
integral pre-requisite and condition of Its march towards the Ideal Society.
Sikhu.m warns agamst the CaUaey out of which this dtlemma arises, and It uncomprommngly opposes aU
theotlcs and practices which seek to buud a fully happy and prosperous society on merely secular hases
A poSSible mis-conception about the SIkh notions on the SUbJect must be removed here The Idea] Sikh
Society is not a religIOUS or church state, or a theocratIc orgarusation. A rellgIou! sute is based on the aSlump-"
tion that uruty of relJgion IS, more or less, necessary In order to secure n:lI.lOnal unity and strt;ngth, and In order
to mamtain order and social harmony The temble hfe and death struggle lOtO which the Sikhs were pushed by
the Mughal emperors, informed and guIded by the doctnnes of the political Islam, as expounded by the Mujaddid,
resulted preCiSely from this assumption of IslamIC pohty. The wars of rehgIon, and the prolonged penods of
bloodshed wruch ha ... e dtsfig'llred the lustory of Europe for hundttds of yean, arc also seen to be the necessary
1. 5101<", Fari.t, Z. Au, 5,kh MIf opn~ Ai mal! kau.-lJIulVnplVllh, Alcal USfal.
3. /Col n",1 = nalli RJJ}a -BdavaJ, 1.
 [XVI]
concolIUtsnts of this assumption. The pellce of Augsburg in 1555. concluded to rnd wars of religion in Europe.
on the prinetple. Clli., ngio tiu' rr1igic, that is, thai every subject must accept the teli&ion orh;! ruler, is precisely Ihe
principle which 8"imat~ and lustAined emperor Au~osub througbout his Jong aDd eventful reign. The sub-
tonSCtOUS tmces of IbiS assumpbon sulllin&er ill the India (J( tod3Y IQ which alone ~rlaln fKtnt developments
In the body paU.ll(; or the country ColD "ltimatcly be tu.eed. SunilarlY.8 Cheocrahc stille is based 00 the presump-
\lon that the Nkrs are amiwerable. not Cor the welfare of the bodies of their s.ubjecu, but for the .salvation of
their souls, and that the end of all pobtical endeavQur h not in thiS world but the next. Sik.hi$t'n c.onslder.; these
assumptions 85 unwarranted, for. It beuevC'S that, there lIes a fundament31 and higher unity in all true rchpons
which arc apparently dIverse lnd that, therefore. the ,oda} b:umony alld the: national unity of a state: must be
founded on this fundamenlal umty and not wholesale conformity. The Tenth 'Nanak. Ouro Oobtnd Singh. h.u
bid it down Ib2t. " The (nnple and the mosque. the worshIp of God by (be Aryans and the prayers to Him of
the S<mettc!, are fundamentally the ~mel". Sikhism thus postulAles th.at It is tbe duty of an orBaOi.iC'd reLgton.
'IIhv::h pouutatc II an arllcl.e of creed U1 Sl~hisrn, net only 10 acqUiesce 10 tbe prOVISIon of liberty of coruclcnce
to non-Slkh$, but also to utfend the ri!ht to sw:::h lJ.betty. or those whose conscience moves them HI_a seemingly
dlfi"w:nl dlrechon. For athlevn~g enilunng agreement ud umty, the cruer (If the Khab.a relies Upon the methods
of enlightenment aDd persuasloo, 10 place of COCft10D and btllln-wasrung, while recogmsing aU the while that
tbough tbe Truth is Doe, tbe roads to It are many, and therefore tbe Slkhl pray that, "Let aU be sOIYed through
whatever path tbat C:lO &ave tbem'." Siklusm generallY rndon~ tne view of tl1e meilleval Wnt tbat. "tbe heart
of so great a mystery cantlO' evet be reached by following onc road onlYS, "

These, broadly, arc the SOCial implu:abons of Slkbism, JO the context of the modern poLtical world $llua!/on
lind thought.

IV
CONCLUSION
]n tbe year 1000, we arc lit a suge of world bistoty in which not only the distance has been anrululatcd but
other walls such IS those of language. luslory, tra.dlllod. that separate ~plc:s and nations from e3.dl other, have
also been con$ldembly lowered. The different hvu'Ig relIgions, Iberefpre, are now in a pOSJll.on to look: at each
other with tbe eyn of eompanson and to find as to In what pomts they fUlldamentally differ from their cantero-
paranes, In the UlaUer of doctnne and re!Jglous expeoencc. lms cask of c:ompanson eotalls re-as~$sment of the

~:e,:~~rr~~~f: ~:r~~~:~:~:~:! ~:;:~~~~:'!~:~n:~~s:~= ~~~::~opefUl SIgn proIWse5

whicb

To dIstingUish Slliusm frorn the other hIther and world religions, therefore, it is necessary to po'1nt
the broad poInts ofagreerncnt between Sikhism and tM othcc relipons, as well as the POUlts of dliference out
. It 1$ a common postulate of aU hJ&her rc!.tg\on$ .of manbnd th3.t lh.~re is a sPlntu:ll preRDCe which
m~stcnousl)' SU5tlUns the UDlVtfSe of phenomena, and tnatlt IS tlut spmtuaJ presence which IS absnlutel rea1. J
~~s:~~~I~~4SI~~: e.g;rees WIth the lugher h~l1\g nbporu: of the wolId, suCh as, l:hndulsm, :uddhism~

Aoolllcf PUluutt of these bJg,h(r religiOUS IS tha.t, ma.n tiads lwnself not only in need of "
awart1lC$t of tbls absolute realllY, but .Iso to be in eotnmuwon with it, 'In louch with it, Thcre ;srnVlng• at an
~:~ ~:~h. ::o.~r::;:r.tM.t unlm (hit IS done. be cannot fcel rumseU at home in the world in w':c~~~C ;~~:

men! W~I:b~:~~~:~~:S~~:t:t~~ aforementioned higher and h'Ylng relJgtons and SlkhlSlD is in agree-
 [XVltJ
Wjth rt"prd to the Il:tture oftb.s SPlritU:tl presence. which llts behind and sUSlalns the world of phenomena.
it is agreed by allthest higher Inutg religions that it .. not contaIned tn, nnd IS g~aler than either some of the
p,benomena or the sum loul of the phC'fIOmena. including the man ll1mse!f
Sikhism agrees \ljth this
AUlheie ,re:ll religions agree wJth tach olher In asserting that the nalure of this absolute realIty. which
lies bthind and suslams the phenomen~, has an upe-ct ",hu,n is neurer and which IS Impersonal The ni11.ulIlI
of th.e Bud.lhism and ",nb",1",nl1 af ltlnduhm. and \~ n~nentt of the mysttcs of Islam aM Christianity. "ffirm
thiS aspect and Chlll'aClmstiC of absolute lTallty. But they further agrtt Ih3t this absolute reality h.::ls also a per·
son3.J .sped. The )IQM!/'lna Buddhism. IImduum, Chnslianlly and Jsbm are all agreed that Ihe absolute reality
hu a (a~ \l,hkh h. p:nom.t. in the scn~ in .... hi-=h I!. hUman bcu\g lS I!. person. and th:Lt human beln~ encounter
this penon,,' face of the :absolule reality in Ihe s.:tme sense in which one IndiVidual human hewg en-=ounters another
What rrmsely this personal a1pec1 is, whether It penodlC3l1y manifest! Itself In the form of an attar, 3 dtvine
descent. or it tus malll{~ted i.tKlf only oncc·{or-all-ume and In a unique incarnatIon, IS nol uJ'llversally agreed.
Dul .n these great living religions agree that the splntu:!.1 presence which permeates and sustains the ~orld of
pbenomen3 hu a penort:l.l aspect. J1Q~d.t'l1"1J declares th:!t Ihls p(TSon:!.1 a~pect of absolute reality manifests Itself
in the bodA~ttal'fU dnd Is phltl11. For Jhnduism And for ChflStl3nlly thIS ~rsonal aspect IS triune, I ~., It assumes
the fonn of Bl'I.hma, Vishnu And Shin; or the rather, the Son, and the Holy Ghost In hlam this personal
1II.1pect i1 dmntd II.) singut:n in tbe form of God, 'be Albh.

In this m:Ltter, Sikhism. willie accepting Ihn the penonal aspct"t of the absolute reality i, singv1ar. declares
thi, Person to be the Universal Mind of which all other fimte minds are but emanatlons These finite minds are
at each moment one with the umH'rsal Mind, the C'ssence of their fimtude being ehmJnallve and not productive.
Th:U "hat makes a mmd finite and dIstinguished from the unl~nal Mmd is, what has b«n e1immated Ollt of it,
aod not ""hat has been produced by il. It is Ihls ut\!verul Mind which Sikhism holds as the absolute Reality, and
it is rrom this doctrine thaI the baSIC leachings of Sikhism. which C'ssenllally aim at the destruction of Ihe seJf-cen-
lrroneu of the ind.... idual mind, arise.
Thus, allhougb SikhISm is largely In IIgreement w\lb the basic postulates of th.e grellt living rebglons of the
world, it h3~ ill points of diStinction wh.lch art' not less Important and wru-=h when translated into aChon, i.t. into
the counsel which It gi\es to m3nkind 10 allain iu highest destinY, lead to pra-=tices and consequences which not
only mark Sllhi!m from the other treat tehgions but also m3ke It of peculiar IDlercst to the modem man.

KMlSQ Coll~t. Bornhay. KAPUR SINOH, M ..... (CANT.I.lI)

Junt 29. 1960. Professor of Rdlgion.